November Princess
by LightRedemption
Summary: With Mengsk dead and the Dominion in ruins, the universe was on course for another doomsday. Cutting off her ties, Kerrigan set out to claim the rights to life of the living. There were, however, a few loose ends. Artwork belongs to Alexey-Konev and Arsenal21 on Deviantart.
1. Chapter 1

_**The context is set after Heart of the Swarm, before Legacy of the Void. **_

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

"What is it boy?"

Its teeth were starting to show. They had been thoroughly rendered through all kinds of flesh. The drool was getting everywhere. Still, it was cute, at least for its master. Stroking its hairless head with a tender delight, she appeared to be confounded as to why it was acting up. Perhaps it was bored. Truly a long time had passed since any of them seen any excitement. That would certainly explain why the creature was starting to make noises. They weren't the normal hissing one would expect though.

"It's always something."

Her feet sank into every step. If only these were real floors, she thought; then walking might have actually been enjoyable. Funny, of all the things she thought she'd miss, it's the concrete. It was either that or the boredom simply had taken over her mind. Floating in space for years on in was not exactly the most interesting life experiences around. She used to have deep slumbers, but after the metamorphosis, sleeping appeared to make no difference. With her pet going wild, there was nothing else to let out but a groan.

Also applicable was a bullet to the head.

The sensation was brief and foreign, but it was not hard to feel the head getting punctured from across the scene. The swift and cold air rushed through her mind, as she dropped straight down. The beast bellowed, as its attention was directed towards the origin of the shot. Its legs moved with swift, but its own life was quickly met with deliverance. Two silent shots were met with two casualties. It was almost too easy. The place was rather private, thus no reaction from anything outside appeared imminent. With that, the perpetrator emerged from the shadows, gun in one hand and satisfaction on the other.

"You're not so tough." Spoken under true cold blood. Nova had no remorse, of course. It was not easy getting here in the first place. The outfit certainly did not suit her cause, but it stuck. The only thing she had to worry about then was how to get off here. That was of course, provided things were going according to plan.

The Ghost felt her ankles clutched tight, as her stance became compromise. With minimal reaction time, Nova gripped her rifle and fired off another shot, on point as always. However, while visible damage was certainly presence, no lasting impact was detected. As such, her firearm was quickly removed, as she experienced her balance lifted off the ground. Held five feet above ground, Nova was fully aware of what kind of trouble she was in.

"I see you have not taken too kindly to my greetings." Her efforts were met with nothing but the cold stare of those lifeless eyes. They were sharp as well, switching quickly from the downed beast and back to the target at hand. "I am truly sorry about your pet."

Few words were needed, as Nova quickly felt the rugged claw impaling her abdomen. The pain was certainly real, but she had little to say. Blackness overwhelmed. It was over.

…

"This is surprising."

Nova's eyes open, only to see herself being strapped down to what could only be called, lovingly, the ground. The gaping wound in her stomach was still quite visible, and it was definitely hurting. That said, the more alarming presence would be the giant spider-snake creature extending itself over her vision.

"And to whom do I owe this pleasure?"

"Human. High psionic potential. Interesting"

That answered no questions, and raised many more. Before she could ask, however, the spider legs were already tight around her. Her suit was being slowly consumed, and that alone was impressive. There was no time to set off on that train of thought, however, as being both bound and injured did her no favors. Struggling to get out only made it worse, and the dripping acid was going to make contact soon enough.

"Is there any chance we could talk about this dissolving-me-into-liquid thing?"

Perhaps it was a bit too unreasonable to expect a conversation of mutual understanding. Soon enough, she was starting to feel the burn on her skin. Suddenly, being stabbed with a pike did not seem quite as bad. Trying her hardest not to move and make contact, Nova felt herself squeezed even harder.

"Abathur."

The Queen of Blades made her presence known, as she stepped in just in time to stop the absorption from creating any serious damage. That was, of course, relative to the third degree burns the victim was already experiencing at this time.

"I told you, no experiments on human."

Nova felt the grip loosened around her, but she was still nonetheless strapped. The pain was unending, but it also sent her adrenaline sky-high. She knew that voice, of course.

"...Kerrigan."

"Excuse the housekeeper."

The Queen of Blades approached. Eventually, the two were in full view of each other. The gunshot holes from before had all but disappeared without a trace, but blood was still a pinpoint for the punctured abdomen. "Funny, it was not the time to take out the trash."

"Why... am I still alive?"

Nova was mildly surprised that none other than the one she opted to murder halted her imminent and painful death. Still, the logical stepping-stone would of course be so that Kerrigan could deliver that death with in a more interesting manner. Whatever it was, she needed answers.

"I figured blowing a hole in yours and your pet's skull was enough to get you to dislike me."

"Are you trying to get me to kill you?" Said Kerrigan, in the most condescending tone possible. She appeared to be unable to deal with matter at such a pace. There was no point in finishing this fast.

"In case you haven't noticed, yes." Nova continued. If there was anything of her not tangled at the moment, it would be her words. They did not seem to be delivering any sort of weight, however. "I have a bleeding hole in my stomach, my skin is burned in ten different places and worst of all, I have no means of killing you at the moment."

Nova saw nothing else. A blunt hit across the head knocked her out cold.

...

"You're not going to let me die easily, are you?" Nova regained consciousness, only to see Kerrigan within view. There was little for her to do, although it did not seem like her movement was restricted any longer. She appeared to be back in Kerrigan's quarters, lying flat on her back. Nothing changed about her torn up uniform, however. Completely exhausted, the operative simply did not move, feeling no urge to do anything.

"I'm surprised you only think so now." The Queen of Blade rose from her throne. If nothing else, one would claim the look one her face was ecstatic. "You're going to stay right here to make up for what you've done."

"What would that be?" Nova grumbled. Perhaps she was far too confident when it came to the assassination. After all, the only data she had on her target was that taken from the research lab after Kerrigan was purged of her Zerg features. Not expect someone so dangerous to make some alterations after all these times was nothing short of naïve. Still, it was worth a try. "Aside from trying to murder you, of course."

"That I don't mind, but you killed my pet." The incessant smirk was starting to get worrying. Nova was feeling cold sweat. She had recognized by now that she was no longer feeling any kind of pain. In fact, her body was in a numbing state. Reaching over to the wound, she found it shelled by a protein substance. Her burn marks were scarring, but not bothering her at all. "All things considered, I'd say that this isn't such a bad deal."

"To hell with you." Nova boosted on her feet. While she did not possess nearly her normal strength, this should be enough to let her at least run for a bit. Kerrigan's none-reaction to this turn of events was quite disturbing, however. "What makes you think you can inject me with sedatives and expect me to do what you want?"

"Well, the only way for you to be able to resist would be if you killed yourself." Kerrigan made no mistake in asserting her control of the situation. She appeared to have everything in her pocket, figuratively speaking. No risk was perceived in approaching the prey. "So, I made sure you wouldn't."

"You underestimate me." Nova, fully determined to stop the game, had her hands around her neck. She was ready to simply end things with a quick twist, so that she would not have to deal with any of this nonsense. However, just as she tried to carry out, pain struck her mental state. She had no idea what was happening, but was not ready to give up. However, the shock was too much for her to continue, as the captured operative collapsed out of sheer exhaustion.

"Do I?"

"Explain yourself!" Panting, Nova roared in anger. Something was clearly wrong with her, and she was not going to let it go before she had answers. While it was quite obvious she was in absolutely no position to make demands, Kerrigan seemed eager to entertain the idea. "What did you do?"

"Abathur was more than happy to do a little modification. All I had to do was to give the order." The two came face-to-face, one glowing bright red and the other full of anticipation. Kerrigan seemed more than delighted to witness the struggle. "Let's just say... you're never going to talk back to me again."

"You..." The spirit of defiance was certainly admirable, but the pain quickly overtook Nova. She was no longer capable of throwing herself against this current. She felt as if her head was ready to explode at any given moment. It was something no training could prepare her for.

"I suggest you not putting up a fight." As smug as could be, the Queen of Blades was in the mood to play. For her, it simply was sadistically satisfying watching her prey squirming on the ground. "You're only making this harder on yourself."

"Stop it, now!" The Queen offered no retort, simply displaying her smile for all to see. It was a taunt more than anything else. Nova knew it perfectly well, and she would gladly end her own life rather than be subjected to this mental torture. However, she was not allowed to. While physical pain suffered will eventually turn numb, having her brain strained to madness will never go away. "Please."

"Good job." Almost instantaneously, the Ghost stopped struggling. Her entire body slammed onto the ground below, exhausted. A mixture of sweat and tears dribbled across her petite face, signaling total defeat. Everything she had accomplished up to now, all the integrity she felt she needed to keep; was washed away after that one word.

"You bitch!" Those breaths were all of what she had left. Of course, one would not expect Kerrigan to respond favorably to them. Her feet slammed into Nova's chest, causing her to cough furiously, gagging out blood with every stroke. The heel dug deeper with a circling motion, and the victim was simply too weak to retaliate.

"You better watch what you say." The punishment, while severe and damaging, was quickly lifted. Whatever Kerrigan wanted, it would not be to damage her prey beyond the point of recovery. After all, what good would a toy be, if it broke after the first time she played with it? "You'll soon learn that those words would be a mild description of what you're going to view me as."

"Go to hell."

Nova blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Trying out new things. They haven't proved to be working thus far.**_

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

Awoken, Nova peered across the space. It was blank and choke full of sludge, just like one would expect the inside of a Leviathan to be. It as surprising enough to her that it was possible to breathe inside one of these planetary beasts, but no one ever bothered with researching it before. Regardless, here she was, exhausted and defeated, knew not of her eventual fate. Her limbs were no longer bound, but she certainly was not rid of the torn clothes. What was she expecting, a maid crew in the middle of space?

"Up already?" A quick judge revealed Kerrigan's whereabouts, being right behind her all this time. Of course, there were few concerns for directions when someone was completely disoriented. Biting her lips, Nova forced herself backwards, in order to face the Queen of Blades. She was just the same as she was in their last encounter, to no one's surprise.

"You…" Nova sighed. She understood the situation, fully. Last time, she allowed fuelled rage to blind her, leading what could only prove to be something almost close to the suffering experienced years before under Fagin's control. Dark days those were, and she had every reason to believe Kerrigan could do much worse. After all, the Queen of Blades definitely did not need a psi-screen to stop any type of psionic attack that could be initiated, especially with Nova in this state. "What do you want from me?"

"I don't know." Mildly surprised, the Ghost decided to at least stay somewhat focused. If what she feared was true, she had all the time in the world to listen. Kerrigan paused, as if expecting a reaction, but continued when none was given. "What do you think?"

"Nothing." Both of them lightly smiled at each other. Nova was a bit surprised as to how fast she was starting to take all of this in stride, but more thoughts dictate that it was not that strange. After all, she did put a bullet through Kerrigan's head, and while that most likely did not cause much of a scratch, it was an assassination attempt. At this point it was just a matter of luck that the Queen of Blades was not looking for vengeance by ripping the skin from her bones or something equally terrifying. "You wanted to keep me alive, you figure it out."

"That was a strange decision, I admit." With a wave of her hand, Kerrigan conjured up a throne of flesh, erupting from beneath them both. Her powers were far less random and volatile than what Nova recalled, but those reports were severely out-dated. "I thought about killing you, sure, but I supposed it would have been far too easy."

"So instead, what are you going to do now?" Nova had since then regained some of her strength, making basic operations no longer so costly. While standing up proved to be a much more daunting task than she had previously anticipated, it was not long before she was back on her feet. Keeping still was truly making her agitated, however, and she could not afford to make sudden movements in case Kerrigan was not feeling like having any of it. "The psychic assault was quite effective, I assured you. However, I figured if you wanted to do anything more than that I would have been much worse off by now."

"That was just because you were being difficult." Kerrigan smirked. She had no reason to lie, as what use would a squirming prey have in continuing to be entertaining should it pass out from pain all the time. "Still, watching you twitch and moan did have its charms."

"I'm sure." Nova scoffed. Looking around, it was difficult to grasp what exactly was going to happen. Surely, inside a beast's belly could not have had that many things to do. What exactly was Kerrigan up to all this time, and what possible use could Nova herself have; which did not concern mind crushing for torture and enjoyment, of course. "There have to be so many things for you to do here, you would not have time for someone like me."

"I can assure you I always have time to break you and enjoy every second of it." Verbal sparring was far beyond commonplace. While they did not have history, it was far too easy for both of them to dictate a conversation. After all, being trained in the Terran Ghost Academy tended to do that to operatives, even if they were made to be cold-blooded killing machines. "Right now, though, I'm just bored."

"Are you afraid hurting others will get old too quick?" Another comeback, albeit this one was short lived. It would be hard to keep being smug once your stomach was hit with a winged claw at blinding speed. Nova was quickly on the ground, halfway regretting tempting her own fate.

"No, it wouldn't." Kerrigan, however, simply had no reason to stop. She was in total control, and while she would never admit the Ghost was already becoming a better companion than the acid-drooling Zergling she had as a pet before, albeit much less cute, it was not in her best interest to deal irreparable damage. That was compounded by the fact that the last thing she wanted was to have a human experiment for Abathur, given how catastrophic that turned out previously. "Get up, it wasn't that hard."

"That maybe…" Nova struggled to lift herself off the ground. While the hit was far less than lethal, her worn out physique, compounded that she had not eaten for quite a while, was seriously getting to her resilience. Best she could do was crawled up into a kneeling position, one arm over her aching stomach and the other supporting her side. A pant was heard. "I'm just… not exactly in top form at the moment."

"Oh, sorry about that." The sarcasm was sorely missed. Stepping off the throne, Kerrigan slowly approached the fallen Ghost, displaying her far more prominent health. Few realized how much of her own gale-covered skin was of her own design. The process of transformation was, in fact, far more liberating than one would seem to think. After all, there existed hooves growing out of the sole of her feet simply to look like heels; the only different was that there was no potential harm to her feet. "I wasn't aware I had to feed you as well."

"Funny…" That hit dealt a considerably harder blow to Nova's constitution than both of them could have predicted. She found herself no longer able to support her own upper body weight, instead collapsing on the shoulder, quivering from a lack of energy and heating in general. Her suite was not exactly well kept, and the holes were doing little else but disclosing how vulnerable her current condition was. "Hell…"

"…" A retracting hum than a lack of a comment, Kerrigan was deep in thought. While it was the least of her priorities, it was rather obvious that starvation would take Nova much faster than she could have. It would be quite a bit ironic to stop the girl from killing herself yet force her to die from hunger. That would not be funny, simply bad manner. Still, they were far deep in space, and eatable substances was not going to simply make themselves known for the sake of convenience. "How did you get here?"

"Why…" Half a question was followed by a thought. It was obvious, Nova noticed, that she was simply slowly dying at this pace. Knowing what little she did of Kerrigan, it would be a bit unexpected for the Queen of Blades herself to be so powerless in solving a problem. While Nova would certainly not mind a stab through the heart to end all suffering, gradually writhing away to nothingness was certainly not up there on the ways she wanted to spend the last of her days. "The Wraith is behind the third eye."

She heard nothing after that, as if Kerrigan simply vanished. It would not surprise her if the Queen of Blades were able to simply assimilate herself through out the insides of this gigantic beast. From what had been seen, there exists an alarming amount of evolution chambers within this fleshy compound. There probably were thousands, if not millions, of Zerg away from eyeshot somewhere. It was not an easy idea to think of, but that was the least of her problems right now.

…

"Get up." That voice was as cold as ever, but Nova knew what it meant. Or at least, her senses were not all masked at that time. She could smell the slightly charred fleshed from across the figurative room. If anything, it urged her to open those viridescent eyes. What she first felt, however, was being lightly pushed off the ground into a sitting position. "Here."

"…Thank you." Nova hesitantly took the piece of what appeared to be seared meat. It was neither the greatest looking nor greatest smelling piece of meat she had ever seen, but at this point it hardly mattered. However, she did not recall bringing this type of food with her on the ship, as this would hardly be feasible to keep in cryostatis long enough for space travel. Instead, she had food pills, efficient and prompt, to keep her nourished. "What… exactly is this?"

"You honestly cannot think the leviathan would leave a bug on its eyelids for that long." Her fears were confirmed. It was quite ambitious of her to expect her ride to be preserved after this long, as this mission was not at all supposed to take any more than a few minutes. Most of her equipment should also have been compromised, leaving any chance of successfully getting off this accursed vessel improbable. "That means you don't want to know what that is."

Not another word before Nova lightly took a bite out of the food given to her. It tasted horribly, not to mention clearly burnt in various places. However, her position was far from one where a demand was justifiable, thus she kept quiet. While it was unpleasant, the food served its purpose of keeping her from starving, quite well in fact. It was not shocking to see Kerrigan feeding her captive, but seeing her going out of her way to do a decent job was nonetheless unexpected.

"That was kind of you."

"I know you might not be thinking very clear right now, but trying to set me off my not be the best game plan you have." Kerrigan was clearly not amused. She did not even know why she made an effort, but it was too late now. Perhaps a verbal jab some time down the line would do great on the record.

"No, I mean it."

Complete silence.

"Look…"

"I know. You didn't mean to." Neither of them knew when the conversation had suddenly become that of mutual respect, but it has. Nova knew not of any ulterior motives possibly involved, but it was none of her concerns. Knowing her ship was consumed sufficiently put her into a hopeless position. While she had escaped from a situation similar to this before, it did not seem nearly as bleak at the time. Then, she was being controlled, hands forced by threats and power. At the moment, it was purely the lack of motivation. This was going to be her last big job, her last tie to cut, and it was going to be all over. It still is, just in a completely different way. "It doesn't make the slightest difference to me."

"I see." Kerrigan could not help but crept a smile. No longer could she sense a conflict of interest, and that might just be saying goodbye to what was left of any retaliation. She was not at all displeased, and she was not even sure why. The only thing she knew for sure, was that this trip towards certain doom might not be as boring as she thought.


	3. Chapter 3

_**This story is now encompassed by how disappointed I am with Blizzard.**_

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

"Get up." Nova's eyes opened, but she was no longer naïve enough to expect sun rays. Everything around her was as devoid of life as possible, except for the two of them. Her body still ached occasionally, but it had gotten substantially better since her first time aboard. There was still nothing pretty about this situation, but humans could adapt to anything. "Do you want me to make you?"

"Right…" She got off the ground rather hesitantly. There was so much on her mind, but now none of it seemed to matter. Perhaps the greatest irony was how she was not as alone now, floating in space in a few thousand tons living vessel without any other human beings, as she was after the Second Great War concluded. "You don't seem to be in a good mood today."

"You haven't learned a thing have you?" As expected, the Queen of Blades was not receptive to the snide remark. Regardless, it had been demonstrated well enough that she was not easily agitated. Her self-control was, in fact, considerable. Unless there was a need to show authority, of course.

"Don't get worked up about it." Despite what she was saying, Nova knew anything thing she was saying was not making much of a difference. After all, she was no masochist, and certainly did not enjoy the torment she was put through during the first couple of days. Being defiant and arrogant can only got one so far with one's back to the walls. "Why did you wake me up?"

"It's morning." Kerrigan spoke as if it was something to be expected. What she said of course made no sense, as they were floating in the vastness of space, and the concept of time of day simply did not apply to the cold, dead air outside. It was something she had frequented in doing for a long time, however, and was not about to stop.

"I never got around to ask." Even though she was now fully awake, Nova was not about to stand up. There was no point, and there simply was nothing for her to do. Ever since she arrived, all she had ever done was being inanimate or get beaten up. Most of it she brought upon herself, but it did not make her lively. "What time?"

"Acid Marsh, Char." Nova turned to her captor, only to see a slight hint of emotion running through the atmosphere. She was unaware of which one, but it was surprising regardless. It had been almost a week since Nova was forced to be kept here, and her treatment had not changed since day three. She herself had gone to numerous states of emotions, but as of right now, she was simply uninterested in much else but small talk. Kerrigan noticed the silence. "You don't have much on your mind, do you?"

"I would ask you to stop reading my mind, but I suppose you don't even need to." The Ghost replied in light tone. It was hard of her clearly focus on much of anything, since there was never going to be a page in the training book telling one how to deal with a positively hopeless situation that did not end in certain death. "As you can probably tell, I didn't actually make plans."

"What was your perceived success rate?" Kerrigan, an ex-Ghost herself, knew at least a little bit of what Nova would have gone through in training. They were of different political affiliation back then, so it was reasonable to believe their programmes were somewhat dissimilar. Any further questions would be to continue this line of investigation. "If it was me, it would be less than five percent, with what you would have gathered by taking a hold of Valerian's research."

"It was point two percent." Nova's remark was surprising. It was far below the minimum success rate needed to get any mission approved. Whoever was in charge of arranging such a confrontation must have been extremely hopeful, and breaking protocol at the same time. "Valerian did not know much, but I got far more intelligence extracted from the Hyperion. I paid them a visit; they just never noticed. Not to mention that percentage was only achievable with my being personally involved."

"Who would send you on this mission then?" Kerrigan pondered the question. It did not make sense to her, as it should not. "I may not have known you previously, but what you showed me so far would have netted you rather high up when it comes to operatives. I find it difficult to think that the Dominion Ghost programme, as headless as they should be, would send you on what essentially was a suicide mission."

"They didn't." Another brief pause. "I sent myself."

"You must really like dying then." The Queen of Blades had a very visible smirk. She was feeling rather cocky, as she had every right to. "Or do you really hate me that much?"

"I have no reason to hate you, before I actually got here anyways." There was nothing else needed to be said about the latter half. "I just did not feel like being a part of the Dominion anymore. On the off chance I would succeed, I would have enough leverage to remove myself from them as I pleased. If I did not, I figured you'd be walking on my skull by now."

"They must have treated you terribly then." Said Kerrigan. "To willingly subject yourself to my wrath rather than staying with them."

It had been quite a while since she had felt such killing intent. That stare Nova was giving her would have been able to tear someone without psionic protection apart, or at least destroy their nervous system entirely. Her own powers were far above this triviality, but to know how indiscriminate such a subject was to the Ghost was certainly interesting.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Nova turned away. She knew fully well that if anything she did could have gotten to the Queen of Blades it would have worked by now. She was not strong enough, and it was a terrible feeling in and of itself.

"I don't think you have a choice." She could feel the jolt across her entire body. She did not want to, but it seemed like Kerrigan had caught enough of an interest that she would never let this matter go away unless Nova explained in great enough details that would not sound like a lie. "It's not like you have anything but time here."

"I…" Nova sighed. She had been here long enough to know that her captor would not push her over the edge so hastily, so she would have time to think. There was so many things that had happened. Her head pounded like a jackhammer trying to remember them all, and the fact that so much of her memory was sealed away against her will did not help. Her youth, her days as a slave, the ghost academy, Tosh, the Nova squadron, everything was flowing back at once. This was exactly what she did not want to be reminded of. "I don't want to."

"I don't think you understand your position here." Kerrigan was certainly not letting go just because of a denial. She was on top of the situation after all, and she was ready to prowl these information out of the Ghost if she had to. She would rather not though, as talking takes a lot more time and would actually be kind of fun. "I can even pry it right out of your mind if I wanted to."

"No!" The squeal was certainly not something the Queen of Blades expected. Only now was it clear that Nova was not being difficult, rather she was approaching some very dark corners in her memories that was too painful to take out of. "Please!"

That was even more unpredictable.

"Nova…" Kerrigan was now thoroughly interested. There was something holding her back from being as antagonising as she could be, however.

"I'm begging you." Hands over her head, Nova was desperate. It was a rare sight, for sure. "Don't make me do this."

"Alright." The tension dropped at the most opportune of times. It was so surprising that Nova did not know how to react. She was still sitting there, all curled up, as if trying to protect something. Her eyes slowly gazed towards her captor's, only to be met with a cold stare. Still, she could see no malice in that stare.

"Is… is it really?" It would be foolish of her not to not assume deception, since that was clearly one of Kerrigan's strong point, but Nova had no other choice. If her tiniest bit of faith here was squandered, it would be even more devastating that the physical pain she had been experiencing thus far.

"Hm…" A slight sigh was all that could be heard from the Queen of Blades. She was silent, not so much disinterested, but instead deep in thoughts. Whatever it might be, Nova was thankful for it. Having finally a moment to recollect herself, it was obvious that she regretted showing her weakness so forcefully. It was a moment of unprecedented weakness, though there was nothing else to be done. "It's still morning."

"…yes." A weak reply. Nova was still lost as to what Kerrigan had planned.

"You're hungry again."

"I…" Nova only realised as her captor mentioned it. Hunger was a luxury aboard this living vessel. It was a miracle that she was actually fed in the first place. The food, whatever it was, was foul, but it kept her alive. Training under extreme conditions had prepared her for constant abuse administered by nature, but nothing quite compare to this. "I am."

"Fine." Kerrigan simply left the chamber, leaving the ex-Ghost by herself. Nova was still generally confused as to what just happened, but decided to take advantage of the situation. She didn't lack rest, as that was the only thing she could actually do up here. However, she was still mightily tired, mostly due to exhaustion. Seeing as Kerrigan was not going to come back in a hurry, Nova drifted to sleep in order to preserve the most energy.

…

Nova woke up to a smell of something strange. Opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was Kerrigan, sitting somewhere that was not on the throne. A piece of meat, of dubious source, was held in front of her. Unlike what she usually had for a meal, this one did not smell like dead rat.

"Don't look so surprised." Said Kerrigan. She was clearly trying to act as nonchalantly as she could, but her acting was not nearly as good as her mind control. Nova was in no state to comment on it, though. "I just put a bit of effort into it, that's all."

"You're probably giving me burnt Zerglings." Nova had nothing to give except an awkward smile and a bit more of her tired complexion. "But I do appreciate it."

"Show it then." Nova was baffled, as the food was ushered towards her face, but not handed over. "Here you go."

"Am I supposed to be your pet?" The Ghost grunted. She may be down and desperate, but doing this would be throwing away whatever's the left of her dignity.

"It's only fair game. You did kill my pet, after all." Said Kerrigan, still patiently waving her treat. "Clearly you're not being reasonable."

"Am I supposed to do whatever you say just because you decided to treat me with slightly less horrendous food?" Nova, while still rather tired, was fully up at this point, staring at Kerrigan from eye level. She was hungry though, that was undeniable. Anything better than what she usually had was good enough. "I'm hungry, yeah, but not enough to do this."

"Would you rather starve because you refuse to eat? What a stubborn girl you are." The Queen of Blades was not showing any displeasure in her tone. She, in fact, seemed to enjoy this predicament quite a lot. "Not because of the torture, nor the mental imprisonment, but because of your own arrogance. Do you really want to die knowing that?"

"I know you don't want me dead, because it'll be boring as hell for you up here. I also know that if you wanted to, you could force me however you wanted. So do it if you must." Pride was definitely something Kerrigan could relate to. As much as she hated admitting it, the only reason she's even alive now was that she refused to give up in the face of mortal danger. She was lucky as well, and perhaps she could see a little bit of herself. "If I gave up my dignity for this, what would I have left?"

"Well." A moment of pondering. "You have me."


	4. Chapter 4

_**End. **_

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

Nova laid on her back, asleep.

In her dreams, there existed an entity. It was dark, yet scarlet. It was a burning reminder of a time long past. In it, there was blood, death, passion, and lust. Would she have remembered this voluntarily? Would anyone have known lest these memories weren't recalled?

She felt a chill at her temple.

Springing awake, Nova rolled out of the firing line. An energy shot head just missed her head, and she was rapidly trying to move away from its source. While unused, her senses were not dulled. They were receptively enough to tell her she was being hunted by an assassin of some description. However, her eyes did not detect any visible threat. The living vessel was the same as it always was, sullen and fleshy. However, there was danger on board, and it wasn't her.

Nova took cover within a further corner. It was an amazing feat how the inner lungs of a giant leviathan can be used as such fantastic vantage point. She had a general idea of where the shots were coming from, but nothing else has been really heard since then. The attacker was obviously good enough that he could sneak onto this Zerg command vessel, and experienced enough not to do any silly talking. He was there to kill.

If this was a month ago, and Nova still had her suit, this wouldn't be a problem. However, being stranded for so long, and subjected to many degrees of hardship, it was impossible for her to fight back. The assailant was cloaked, that much she knew, so either a Ghost or Spectre. Ghosts are nigh defunct at this point, or they should be, so someone was here to finish her mission. That did not explain why she was the target, instead only served to convolute the process.

It was a Spectre.

Nova concealed her breathing the best of her ability. Since she could not see the pursuer, it was best not to give out any more information, nor panic. This wasn't the time to ask question, instead to watch out for the slightest of movements.

Several minutes passed without and signs of disorder. If she had any less resolve, one wouldn't be crazy to think she was going insane and imagining herself being targeted. However, that would be a little bit too convenient. She knew fully well the limitations of cloaking. Sure, it made someone invisible, unless faced with detection ability. Detection worked by mapping out the irregular pathing of light, and if one knew what to look for, trained operatives could also vaguely pin point the location of a cloaked object. The problem was, such a method only worked as the unit moved. If the Spectre elected to simply stay still, he would be in no danger, while Nova was continuously exerting herself. Her physical condition simply did not allow that, and she could almost feel being approached every time her eyes blinked.

A light tap on the floor.

Nova dodged another shot coming at a completely different angle than she was expecting, slightly off-cover from her position. One could not expect to react to energy beam, but the mismatch in movement earlier allowed her a chance of anticipation. However, this farce wasn't going to last long. She was already exhausted, physically and mentally, and the only thing keeping her alive right now was because the assassin still wanted to be discreet about this encounter. He was looking to not disturb the other dark entity lurking within these fleshy walls. If another shot was fired, he would definitely be revealed.

Nova was already at another chamber. She knew she was faster, since if the pursuer had ran, sound and footing would have definitely compromised him. Hiding herself behind a curve, she counted on not being spotted. However, fear was rapidly getting the better of her. Something like this wasn't what one could prepare for. She could feel her breathing becoming heavier, more noticeable.

A flash of shining alloy appeared in front of her, but she could no longer dodge.

The blade itself dug into her abdomen, and blood was gushing out. The assailant revealed himself, having confirmed that his target could no longer fight back, and that he was running out of cloak energy. Nova saw his darker features, his sparse, masculine beard, and those long, willowy dreads. She knew who he was, but she didn't care. She only knew it hurt. It was pushed in deeper.

_Help._

Her sight became blackened, but she was still conscious. The blade was ripped in half from below, as a cocoon-shaped, bony wrapper emerged, completely contained Nova within it. It acted as a shield, protecting her from all further damage. She could not see a thing of what was happening outside, but she could hear sounds of breaking equipment, and a man struggling for his life. She just sat there and listened to how his massive, rugged body was slammed into the ground again and again, until he stopped making noises.

The black curtain around her settled soon enough, and Nova's sight was functional again.

"Tosh."

Clutching her bleeding wound, Nova stared at the immobile figure in front of her. Gabriel Tosh, her old teammate, friend, enemy, and lover. He laid flat, badly bruised and beaten. She was unsure of her feelings towards this turn of events, instead simply backed off. Her footings was weak, so she fell, but was promptly caught.

She turned, to see Kerrigan behind her.

"Thank you… for saving me." Nova did not receive a reply, but was let down gently onto the ground to rest. The Queen of Blades then approached the motionless Spectre. A claw stretched forth from her back, positioning itself to strike downwards. "Wait…"

"What?" Kerrigan was waiting for this reaction. Her claw stayed where it was, but her head was turned. "Do you have pity for this man?"

"No, but…" Nova was lost in her own indecision. She knew that if she did not respond fast, Tosh would be dead, and that was an irreversible event. "Can you… give me a moment?"

To Nova's surprise, Kerrigan complied, and back away towards her instead.

"I already know how you feel." Psionic mind-reading always came in handy. "The question is: are you willing to be honest?"

Nova sat, frozen. Her gaze was to the ground, and her face in her arms. She was reminded of those days in the academy. She, Tosh, and the rest of Team Blue was such a menace, and was willing to do everything for each other. She was reminded of their differences, and their reconciliations. She was reminded of how they went against each other, on different sides of a war. Finally, she realised one thing.

None of that mattered.

"Do it." The claw subsequently pierced through the Spectre's body armour, as the body beneath violent flailed about. It was then ripped to shreds, without a single hint of hesitation or remorse.

"It's good you finally made up your mind." Said the Queen of Blades, cleaning herself off the bloody scene.

"Yeah…" For Nova, that moment of reluctance wasn't because she was still in love with Tosh, or was thinking over him. They had long since cut ties, and his willingness to assassinate her showed that. She would kill him herself it she was ordered, no contest. No. What Nova admitted to herself was the fact that she willingly welcomed Kerrigan's help. They already had a psionic connection, and it was because of how the Ghost called out for help, even if only in her mind, earlier that allowed Kerrigan to step in just in time. "Thank you."

"You already thanked me." The reply was as sardonic as expected, but it wasn't cold.

"I know. In fact, I cannot thank you enough." Nova was now completely relaxed, as much as someone with a stab wound could be. Her arms covered her eyes, for there was nothing left to see. "Not only did you spare my life, you actually managed to contain your resentment to the world and not lashing them out on me. And now, you just saved my life."

"Stockholm syndrome?" It was a very good possibility.

"Maybe, I don't know." Nova let out a painful smile. "Like you said: it's not like I have anything else."

Nova passed out due to blood loss and lack of nutrition.

Kerrigan held the girl up in her arms, and called for Abathur. The Zerg Specialist was needed for more restorative procedures.

…

"Are you awake?" Nova nodded. She was weak still, but no longer in any danger. Her stomach aches on one side, but that was far more than she could expect from a rejuvenation effort. She knew that the Queen of Blades was sitting right beside her, simply from proximity of voice. "You have a habit of passing out a lot, don't you?"

"I'm hungry." A moment of silence passed, then a piece of cooked meat was placed into her palms. She had yet to open her eyes, but gnawed mercilessly on the food. There was no grace to be found, only a wild and primitive desire. Time seemed to wait for her to finish.

She did, soon enough.

"Here." Placed in Nova's palm this time was a fleshy shack. It held a liquid that looked like bile. Still, she gladly drank it. It was just water, along with other unnamed substances. "Satisfied?"

"Yes." She wiped her mouth of the food. "Very."

"Talk then." A disapproved tone. "You look like you have something to say."

"Hm…" Nova lightly tapped her lips in an expression of comfort. "I was impressed about how quick you found me. It was almost instantaneous from when I called for help."

"If you're insinuating that I was only waiting until the last moment to swoop in and help you, you'd be wrong." Kerrigan was having none of the sass. "I don't need to appear a hero in your eyes."

"That's where you're wrong." Nova's gently, slender hands reached for Kerrigan's. Compared to hers, the Queen of Blade's were rugged, rough, and spiky, a live demonstration of various mutations and DNA slices. There would be no humanity-resembled feature left on that skin had Abathur decided opposable thumbs was not a useful trait. "You're already my hero."

"Do you understand what you're saying?" Kerrigan appeared unmoved, but nevertheless curious. Her tone was intimidating. "You're giving yourself in to the cruellest known tyrant whose name ever reached sixty sectors."

"The Queen Bitch of the Universe herself." An appropriate comment to make. Nova had already made peace with her decision. There was no longer anything left to be afraid of. "That would be someone nice to have as a companion."

"You think that's a good thing?" Even saying that, Kerrigan did not protest the fact that her hand was being held.

"I know you hurt me because I deserved it. It wasn't because you wanted to abuse me, nor take advantage of my nature, nor because of my sexuality. You even went as far as saving my life." Nova closed her eyes in content. "As far as I'm concerned, you treat me the best out of everyone I've ever met, since I awakened to my psionic abilities."

"You know that only meant you had a miserable life."

"I know. That's why I fell in love with Tosh. You know how that works." Nova let go of those sharp fingers. "I'm sure that's how you fell in love with Raynor."

Kerrigan didn't say a word.

"It's the same story. We've been lonely beings our entire life, trapped by people's ulterior motives and greed. The moment we felt there is someone who didn't mind us for what we were, who didn't want to exploit us, we feel instantly indebted to them. We share such a dire emotional vulnerability."

Nova picked herself up. Kerrigan's gaze followed. The Ghost operative slowly close the distance.

"But we were never happy. Those men, they might be respectable people once, but they didn't know us. They didn't know what we went through. They didn't understand anything. In the end, all we've got left is ourselves."

Their eyes were dangerously close. Kerrigan was still silent.

"And each other."

Nova got on her knees, and drew herself in for an embrace. There was very little body warmth to be felt from the Queen of Blades, and the wings got in the way, but it was enough.

"If I accepted you…" Kerrigan finally said something. "How would I know you will not just betray me, once the time comes?"

"Because you understand me." A more practical reason would be mind-reading, but those words alone resonated at a deeper level. It was not something they often felt. "You're too important."

"These things… these grotesque spikes, layers of armour, growing out of me." A pause. "They are battle-hardened, made to impale and destroy. They will never be there to comfort you."

"I know." They were now face to face. "But you will."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Retrospective imminent.<strong>_


	5. Epilogue

Epilogue

"Admiral Raynor."

His head turned.

"We have detected foreign substance on the bridge."

"Source?"

"Scans suggested Psionic origin."

Raynor cursed at the wind and dashed off. This was not supposed to happen. There should be no way this could've been traced back to him.

The commander office was a luxurious one. So many old Earth relics reside here for the enjoyment and nostalgia of its owner. At this moment, Raynor could not care less. The only chance he had was to find the Psi-disruptor before everything was too late. The Hyperion could burn for all he cared.

Suddenly, he felt a slim, cold object right at his temple. It was not metal, so it was not a weapon, but it made him stop regardless.

"Hello, Jim."

He knew the voice. Standing right beside him, cloaked, was Nova Terra. He could almost feel her toying with him, twisting the trigger finger she had to her forehead.

"Nova…" Raynor gathered himself. This was not the time to panic. "Since you're here, I have to assume the Spectre's mission has failed."

"You're a very devilish commander, Jim." Her voice dissipated, and now was coming from everywhere in the room. "To think you'd send Tosh after me. You hoped that he and his cold-blooded voodoo will be able to take me out."

"He should have." Raynor knew he only had one chance. That was only possible by playing the delaying tactics. "I'm more interested in how you survived."

"Oh yes, your plan was very fool-proof, I must admit." The ghost's voice once again centralised, and now the cold object at Raynor's temple was definitely a gun barrel. "There had been… developments outside of what you could possibly had planned, however."

"True, I never thought Tosh would be killed, let alone the fact that you could trace back to me."

"Your underestimate me."

"I have." It was time. "But no more."

Raynor dodged at the earliest shot, and slammed the ground he was walking on. The Psi-disruptor emerged from the back of the cabin, immediately started emitting anti-Psionic waves, effectively disabling all powers. From behind him, Nova appeared and fell to the ground. He took his opportunity to grab the rifle at the back of his desk, and prepared to fire.

That was when he felt a chill down his spine.

He froze, arms and legs strapped down by sheer fear, lips unable to utter a single word. Only then did he realise there was something else, something more sinister abroad his vessel. However, it was already too late for him.

"Do not touch her."

Yet another familiar voice rung at the back up his mind. He had a choice. He could pull the trigger right now with all of his will, but then he will be promptly executed without a doubt. If he gave up, perhaps mercy could be begged for.

He wanted to live, but he was a soldier.

Using all of his mental focus, he snapped his index finger as hard as he could. The blast rifle wound up, but nothing was fired. He looked down at it, only to catch a glimpse of a spike running straight across the gun barrel, preventing if of any operations.

The ground panel beneath him exploded due to an electronic overload, and the Psi-disruptor was disabled because of it. The lights started flickering, as all but the most crucial of system power was being drained.

Nova, no longer affected by the disruptor, delivered a swift kick to his chest, sending Raynor flying backwards into the walls. He knew, however, that he still had one option. If he stayed quiet, the Ghost would kill him without a second thought. There was someone else here, however.

"Sarah!"

Nova narrowed her eyes at his cries. From above the cabin ceiling, came an enormous whirlpool of black. A shadowy figure manifested from it, gradually forming the full body of Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades.

"Jim." The Zerg queen was obviously not amused by this antic. She had originally planned to not interfere, but he forced her hands.

"Sarah, I didn't know that…"

"You couldn't have." Her wings finally expanded to its full size, breaking windows and ornaments where it stretched. "However, I should kill you just for keeping the Psi-disruptor intact."

"It was an emergency backup. You understand, you would've done the same."

Kerrigan didn't reply, but she knew he was right. Instead, she turned to Nova.

"We're leaving."

"What?" It was obviously not a mutual understanding. "He tried to kill me! And that thing he had was designed to kill you!"

"It does not matter." Saying that, the Kerrigan unleashed a surge of electricity at the defunct device, obliterating it once and for all. "I owe him one chance."

"Don't tell me you still love him!"

At those words, Nova saw Kerrigan stood tall over her. She gulped, as the Queen of Blades' wings was at her limbs, and those rugged fingers laid on her cheeks. She closed her eyes in fear, but there was no pain. She only felt the burning sensation placed upon her lips. It was the blistering majestic, the endearing and direct answer to her question. She could feel her legs buckling under the pleasure, but the wings, fearsome yet gentle, were there to catch her. A long winded minute it was, before the Ghost was removed from the draw of pure rapture. She was no longer complaining.

The black whirlpool was slowly pulling them up, but they did not let go of each other. Before they disappeared, Kerrigan delivered one final glare at the Admiral.

"We're even, Jim." There was no hint of warmth or mercy in her words. "The next time you threaten her, I will kill you."

Emergency screens started flashing in the cabin. The Hyperion was on red alert after spotting the giant Leviathan suddenly appearing on their radar, flying overhead. It was not attacking, only looming. As soon as Kerrigan and Nova were gone from the Hyperion's captain cabin, it also vanished into deep space.

Raynor sat in his chair, with a stack of papers in his hands. He looked at it for the last time, then set fire to it in a fit of rage.

The files header read 'November Annabella Terra".

* * *

><p><em><strong>The story continues in 'December'. See my profile.<strong>_


	6. Afterword

Afterword

Words like such are lost to the wind. Soon even I will no longer recall writing these.

Hello readers,

The story has already ended (as have been marked as 'Complete' after the last chapter). This is not a part of the story, instead a retrospective take on what had happened. I don't even know if it's allowed, but honestly I don't care. If you're only interested in the story, there's nothing for you here. If you're curious about the writing process and the behind the scenes, feel free to continue reading.

Why did I write this story? Well I was really into Starcraft 2 at the time (late 2013 – early 2014). I enjoyed playing the campaign, but I've always thought its story was indeed quite horrendous. A lot of it is part of the mission-select mechanic of the game itself. It creates a loose storyline and contrived situations. Even worse, we've had Raynor and Kerrigan – two people with no previous history nor chemistry – suddenly falling in love just so that we could get a high school romance. Nothing was quite like watching two people with honest authority and duty flail over each other, jeopardising the good of the operation and their own better judgement, so they could act like angsty teenagers.

So yes, November Princess. I started this story one bored afternoon at work (technical, not writing). It was originally intended to be a one-shot deal, but obviously it didn't turn out that way. It's a story written by me, so it had to feature a female couple in some way. That makes the character selection quite swift, since there's no other woman in the series really worth writing about. There was that one female mechanic, but I can't even recall her name and she did nothing of note. Kerrigan, being the prominent protagonist of a good amount of the games, needed no introduction. Nova, however, was a face shrouded in mystery. During my research, I realised that there was so many merchandise tie-ins featuring Nova that I never knew existed. This included an aborted video game, quite a few comic books, and a bunch of novels. Now, I won't be commenting on these pieces because I haven't read them yet, instead only scoured for summaries (one might also say researching so much for a 10000 words piece is also kind of idiotic). It was somewhat overwhelming at first, which you could clearly see in the first chapter. I honestly had no idea what was going to happen for a good while.

This story, after 2 chapters (I think, I actually cannot accurately recall) went into a long hiatus due to my inability to manage time properly. This situation was mirrored among my other fanfics as well. Chapter 3 was written at some point during August, and I think it was due to the fact that I had a really good line I wanted to put in. Funny how this is my shortest fanfic series by far (even shorter than quite a lot of my short stories) yet it took me so agonisingly long to write because I didn't possess a good sense of direction when I started out. I didn't know where to take it for the longest time still, which was why it fell back into inactivity for another three months. Earlier last month, when I finally decided to write chapter 4, I realised that I've been dragging this out for way too long, and suddenly the one-shot closing technique that I've become so accustomed to could now be applied to this one. Thus, I ended the story there.

There were many reasons for this: Legacy of the Void is coming out, and I wanted this to end before it did. Regardless of how much I condemned neo-Blizzard and their terrible writing, canon was still canon. You can say: since this is a fanfic, why does canon matter? You're right, I'd say, and I wouldn't force anyone to care about canon at all. I, however, though about things a little different. Canon, as terribly inane and pandering as they may be, cannot possibly be denied. Doing that felt like giving away bits and bits of legitimacy for my characters, which I borrowed, not created. That's why in all of my fanfictions I tend to stick to canon as much as possible, even though I may not be personally happy with them. It's also why I picked a time that's directly after the Hearts of the Swarm expansion, being official and all. It's a personal choice, of course, and I don't advocate it.

Secondly, I was obviously running out of ideas. The entire story (not counting the epilogue) was set on the Leviathan. I could end it right there at chapter 4, or risk leaving the vessel and bulk another mini-series onto my already directionless story. It was quite a predicament at the time, but I felt like I made the right choice. Only time will tell.

As for the Epilogue, it was something I didn't know I was going to do at first. However, around late November, I felt that something of that effect would greatly benefit all of my stories, as it promised no investment, as well as being capable of escaping from the continuity without risk undermining the structure of the narrative. An epilogue would do well in giving closure to the readers, and perhaps also myself, and at the end of the day I'm happy I did it.

There was also something else a reviewer brought up (I'm not naming names but it shouldn't be hard to find if you're interested): Raynor as the villain of the piece. If I gave you that impression, it was not something I intended. He didn't even show up until the epilogue, and had very little impact for the majority of the story. Now, I hold no love for the man, but there was never a villain intended for this piece at all. Nothing anyone did was necessarily meant to be right or wrong. Nova went on a mission for freedom. Kerrigan wanted to save herself, and have a little fun. Tosh was sent on orders, and Raynor simply wanted to get rid of an enemy. I wanted to emphasise that in war, these things happen, to benefit of a few or more at large. Even though there was a conclusion and people were killed, it did not clarify the ambiguity of war. That was what I planned to convey, and perhaps I have not successfully done so.

Live and learn,

LightRedemption

P:S: November Princess is a combination of Sarah's and Nova's names. It's not particularly clever, just thought you should know.

* * *

><p><strong>2015 edit: The story is now continued in 'December'<strong>


End file.
